I M M O B I L I S M | a labor of love lost and found (2010-2020)

I wrote these words a long time ago.

trip 4: May 6/7 Minibus to Dhour (4 pm) - in antelias "shabeb a3doonla el sittet iza bitreedou ma3lesh" (about ten are standing now)

“In Lebanon, up to date data collection and monitoring techniques are lacking and very much needed to give a clear picture of the state of water resources. Rainfall records are more comprehensive than stream flow data. A good network of hydrological stations was installed along major rivers and streams approaching nearly 170 monitoring stations for an area of less than 10,500 km2 in the mid 1970s. However, this program was cut back during years of civil unrest (1975–1990) and the network became non-operational due to destruction, looting and lack of proper maintenance of equipment. In the early 1990s the network was reinstated to partial operation as part of a comprehensive governmental rehabilitation drive. [...] In Lebanon, oral/customary Middle Eastern laws and practices were used to regulate water rights until the publication of the Ottoman Civil Code known as the Majalla “magazine 1870–1876” (Mallat, 1992). Prior to that the Mukhtasar al-Shariá “summary of the law” was mainly used as well as parts of the Napoleonic Code. The publication of the Majalla, which comprised a compilation of water customs at the time, signaled the establishment of the first norms pertaining to water usage in the country (Caponera, 1973). Some of these early texts are still in effect today. The present water laws derive mainly from the days of the French mandate (1918–1940). These are mainly based on Law No. 144 dated 10 June, 1925 relating to public ownership and water rights and Law No. 320 dated 26 May 1926 relating to the conservation and usage of public waters (Caponera, 1954; Fayyad, 1992; Mallat, 1995). These texts form the backbone of the current hydraulic and water resources management policies in the country. [...] The spatial distribution of the water supply authorities reflects administrative boundaries (County and District) rather than catchments or river basins. This division results in regions that are too small to efficiently manage water resources. [...] Water pricing reform is necessary where water should be viewed as an economic commodity and not as a public good. [???]” (xxx) A lot in this paper on the institutional fragmentation of water management, just like in transport sector

Given the legal framework that ministries in Lebanon operate under, only the priorities of acting ministers can lead to the implementation of any single project, regardless of any stand-by proposals within the ministry. Hence, the current proposal, referred to as the Pilot Project (المشروع الرائد), includes several sections outlining steps that require the approval of individual ministers, the council as a whole, as well as those requiring a parliamentary vote (MoPWT-DGMLT, 2013). I met the Director General a day after he presented the proposal to the parliamentary committee tasked with studying transport issues, to re-initiate work on its implementation.

I wrote these words in secret, after dark, a long time ago. I hesitated when writing these words.